The procedures & terms are quite different & do lead to initial confusion. For instance when 'Survey' is mentioned they mean a survey of land to determine that the boundaries are where they should be & that the plot is in the position it is legally described as. This avoids future boundary disputes. This 'Survey' does not refer to the condition of the Villa. What we call a survey is their 'Home Inspection' this is at the buyers discretion & cost & will list the condition of all the relevant items, plumbing, air conditioning etc. of the house. Sub-Division is what we know as an Estate of Houses. They are usually named, with a distinct boundary (wall, fences, hedges etc.) and have a Homeowners Association. 'Appraisal' is our Valuation of the property. This is a rather more scientific means of establishing the 'fair market value' by comparing the asking price with similar properties recently sold & currently on offer, due to the MLS this is a very accurate method of ascertaining the true Value. If a mortgage is required this will be the figure the Mortgage company will use to size the loan amount, any offer above the appraisal will need to be funded by cash. Title (Ownership) is passed to the buyer by a Deed, the General Warranty Deed being the most comprehensive for the buyer. A new deed is written for each transaction, the previous owners deeds having no relevance. The buyer is protected in having 'Clear Title' to the property in most cases by a 'Title Insurance Policy' which is paid for by the Seller & protects the buyer in the event of a claim of ownership by a third party. Naturally, the Insurance Company checks the chain of title through the State & County records prior to issuing the policy. Homeowners Warrantee Insurance' is not insuring the property against external hazards, but is insuring some of the major items such as air conditioning units, boilers etc. against breakdown in the first year of ownership. This is usually paid for by the seller & can be renewed annually by the new owner. If you are buying without a US mortgage you must be certain to have arranged buildings hazard insurance from the date of 'closing'. Closing is simply the final 'exchange of contracts' & money when Title (ownership) passes from Seller to Buyer.
Taking this question to refer to 'Short-term rental' property the answer is a qualified Yes. Qualified because as in any business it is also possible to make a loss, & the profit may not be realised, as cash flow, until the property is sold at some future date. The point to be realised is that you are actually buying a business, not merely a house. For a business to be successful the costs must be less than the earnings. In any business the more of the work that is delegated the higher the costs. The revenue comes from renting the property, if the owner takes no part in this activity then he has to pay commission in some form or other to the party that markets the home. If the owner does all of the marketing he avoids subsequent commission costs. Other factors are how much of the purchase price is financed. The greater the mortgage the higher the number of weeks rental required to meet costs. A scenario that shows all of the costs are just covered by the rentals with no surplus, means that at a future date, when the mortgage is satisfied, the house has been purchased for only the initial cash deposit, & the profit will be realised at the sale of the property. In practice the answer is complicated by many factors, the initial house cost, exchange rates, rental charges, interest rates, method of funding, house inflation etc. It is probably a fair assessment to say, that, if the only reason to buy Florida property is to make large profits, then there may be better places to put the investment. Most people enter this market because they want a stake in Florida, want to spend time there & view the investment as a longer term project. In fairness it should also be noted that many people own multiple homes & run successful businesses in this sector. The advice must be, set out your aims, review all of the facts, seek advice from people like ourselves, reject 'guaranteed return' schemes, & only progress if you are completely happy with the facts.